Tech-Speed Look to Bounce Back at Rockingham.

The GoMobileUK.com with Tech-Speed are looking to bounce back from a pointless trip to Knockhill this weekend (17/18 September) as the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Northamptonshire and the Rockingham Motor Speedway for rounds twenty two, twenty three and twenty four of the season.

The Leamington Spa-based outfit left the 1.3 Mile Knockhill circuit without a single point after their turbocharged rivals proved too quick for the normally aspirated runners in the field, which include Widnes racer Paul O’Neill and his Guernsey-based team-mate, John George.

O’Neill heads to Rockingham looking to replicate the form he showed during the 2010 race weekend, as he took the team’s Honda Integra to a fine second place in the third race of the weekend. He is hoping to repeat his podium performance from Snetterton this time around – even though the Rockingham Motor Speedway should favour the turbocharged cars around the banking, the twisty infield should play to the strengths of the S2000 Spec Chevrolet Cruze.

“We thought that Knockhill was going to be a good weekend for us and obviously it wasn’t the case,” he said. “The turbo cars seemed to benefit from the hills in Scotland a lot more than we expected, but Rockingham is a lot flatter and I’m going there more confident of some good results, although it’s still going to be tough.

“The long run round the oval is pretty much flat out so – in theory – the turbo cars shouldn’t be able to use their torque quite as much and the infield is quite technical, so we have to try and make sure we use the strength of the chassis through that section. It’s hard to make predictions until we get on track and we’ll have to see how it goes, but hopefully we can match the kind of results we gained at Snetterton.”

Team-mate George heads to Rockingham having failed to open his points account last time out in Scotland – and like O’Neill – he was left frustrated having failed to open his account for the season.

George has admitted that it won’t be easy for him to open his account at Rockingham this weekend but he will continue to fight hard at the wheel of his Chevrolet Cruze.

“I think the oval is going to help the turbo cars and the main overtaking place is where you drop off the oval into the first hairpin which might make it difficult for us,” he said. “However, we’ve got a really good chassis and we should be able to hold our own on the twisty infield.

“I’m expecting it to be tough to beat the turbo cars again this weekend and I’ve got to make sure I take any chances that come my way. My best bet is to try and make up places on the infield and then defend on the oval – but that’s something that will be easier said than done.”

Rockingham is the first of two ‘home’ races for the Tech-Speed team and their title sponsor, Go Mobile. Go Mobile are based less than an hour away from Rockingham, in Daventry.

Neal and Shedden aim for Rockingham Glory.

Honda Racing and their two drivers, Gordon Shedden and Matt Neal head to Rockingham Motor Speedway this weekend, aiming to build on the Championship leads they have in the drivers’ Manufacturers/Constructor and Teams’ Championship.

Shedden and Neal sit first and second in the drivers’ Championship table, with Scotsman Shedden on top after his Knockhill Victory – heading to Northamptonshire though, the duo are separated by a single Championship point.

His Knockhill success – he also scored a third place in the opening race – means that Shedden will have to carry the 45kgs success ballast in the two free practice sessions, qualifying as well as the first of three races at the Rockingham circuit.

“Carrying the weight is a pain, but it means you are doing well in the points so that has to be a good thing,” says the 31-year-old, who is seeking his maiden BTCC crown. “Qualifying is going to be vital for us at Rockingham, and lugging that extra weight around is going to make things tough.

“There are three heavy acceleration zones and that is where it is going to hurt us but we know we have a great car in the Civic and the chassis is excellent so hopefully that will help us overcome any handicap. In a sense, Rockingham is one of the worst tracks to come to if you have to carry 45 kilogrammes but it is the price you have to pay for wins.”

‘Flash’ will also be watching out for his team-mate, as he expects Neal to give him the toughest time out on the semi oval circuit.

“We want to win for Honda so we will be looking out for each other, but of course I want to prevail,” adds ‘Flash’. “It is going to be a really tough fight.”

Sitting second in the Championship means that Neal has to carry an additional 36kgs ballast in the #2 Civic for the practice sessions, qualifying and the opening race of the weekend – he feels that the deciding factor could be the weather.

”I have checking the forecast and it looks like it is going to rain at the weekend, which would make things very interesting,” he says.

“I have won in the wet at Rockingham before, but it makes things difficult in terms of shaking up the order. It is impossible to predict how the others will get on in the rain, but we know that the Civic should be strong.”

Neal is determined to take the Championship fight with his rivals, as well as Shedden, down to the season finale at Silverstone on 16 October.

“Myself and Flash will obviously be looking after each other and we are both determined to win the title but we still need to be looking over our shoulders too. There are so many people still in with a shout of winning this championship that we can’t take our eye off the ball. This weekend will be a crucial one.”

The first of the three races at the weekend gets underway at 11.30am and the entire day’s action is carried live on ITV4. Fans can also follow Honda Racing on Facebook and Twitter for news and race results as the action happens – www.facebook.com/HondaRacingBTCC and www.twitter.com/hondaracingbtcc

Morris Aims for Rockingham Success this Weekend.

Seb Morris heads to Northamptonshire and the Rockingham Motor Speedway with his sights set on further success as he closes in on the 2011 Ginetta Junior Championship title.

In the opening fourteen races of the campaign, Morris has secured ten victories and a further podium to boot and he arrives at Rockingham with an advantage of 99 Points over his nearest rival – although, once the ‘drop-score’ ruling comes in, his advantage is slashed to 78 points – the one downside to his consistency this season.

The stats may tell their own story but Morris knows that he needs to have another strong race weekend to keep his healthy Championship advantage intact.

In only his second season of car racing, Marford-based Morris has had the season to dream of as he has recorded a remarkable run of results to keep him in the forefront of the Championship battle.

When races haven’t gone his way – such as Croft and the most recent race at Knockhill, the young Welsh driver has scored top points, and he is yet to retire from a race in 2011.

“I know I’ve still got the pace on the others”, said the Liberty Properties and Legat Owen-supported racer, “I made a mistake in race two at Knockhill and that’s why I finished sixth, it wasn’t down to anyone being quicker than we were. As always, we’ll work hard at Rockingham to get the flow and push as hard as we can for pole positions, podiums and wins.”

With each race which passes by, the Hillspeed driver gets closer to picking up the Ginetta Junior Championship crown. With thirty five points available for a race victory plus the bonus points available for Pole Position and the fastest lap of the race, the battle for the crown is far from over.

Morris added:  “I’m just going to take it weekend after weekend, race after race, lap after lap – I’m not looking at the championship as a whole yet. I’m focused on doing the best I can every race and I’m hoping Rockingham will go well. It’s a good circuit, especially with the huge stands as there’s always a good turn-out. If you get it right it’s a very rewarding track, I’m confident we’ll be quick there.”

After officially timed testing on Friday, 16th September, an additional 15-minute free practice will take place on Saturday, 17th September, with qualifying following at 12.00 and the first race of the weekend, round 15, scheduled to start at 15.40.

On Sunday, 18th September, round 16 of the Ginetta Junior Championship will get underway at 12.10 and will be screened live on Freeview, digital satellite and cable channel ITV4, in High Definition on ITV4 HD and online at www.itv.com/touringcars

Rockingham Challenge Next Up for Al-Harthy.

Ahmad Al Harthy heads to Rockingham for rounds fourteen and fifteen of the 2011 Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship this weekend, looking to secure another podium finish after his double podium visit at Knockhill less than two weeks ago.

The thirty year old Oman Air Racing team driver consolidated his third place in the Pro-Am 1 standings at Knockhill after producing fantastic pace and race craft at the challenging 1.3 Mile Fife circuit and he heads to the Rockingham Motor Speedway looking to add to his tally of eight podiums so far this season.

Rockingham is celebrating its tenth anniversary this season and the East Midlands based circuit always provides great action on the International Super Sports Car Circuit configuration, the layout for this weekend’s visit.

With the turn one banking a major feature of the circuit – it leads to the tight Deene hairpin which takes the field into the twisty infield before rejoining the banking at turn four, the layout is a challenge which Al Harthy is relishing.

“Rockingham is a great circuit with a good mix of challenges so I’m really looking forward to being back there in a few days”, said the Oman Air, Nawras, National Bank of Oman, Brand Oman, Oman Ministry of Sports Affairs and Oman Ministry of Tourism-supported driver, “We came close to being on the podium last year so I’m aiming for nothing less than that this time around.

“So far the season has been going really well for us, the team is doing a great job and I feel I’m driving better than ever. My main aim is to keep hold of third place in the Pro-Am 1 championship but I’ll be pushing as hard as ever to try and close the gap to second position this weekend.

Two pre-event practice sessions will take place at Rockingham this Friday, 16th September, with qualifying for rounds 14 and 15 following on Saturday, 17th September. Both of the weekend’s races will be contested on Sunday, 18th September, at 10.00 and 13.10 respectively.

Live television coverage of both encounters will be screened in the UK on Freeview, cable and digital satellite channel ITV4 and in High Definition on ITV4 HD. In addition, live streaming of the racing will also be available across the globe online atwww.itv.com/touringcars

MacDowall Determined to Battle Turbos at Rockingham.

Having encountered a tough weekend last time out at Knockhill, Alex MacDowall is as determined as ever to get back on the podium when the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship heads to Northamptonshire and the Rockingham Motor Speedway this weekend, 17/18 September.

MacDowall headed north of the border last time out in a very positive mindset but the Carlisle racer was soon on the back foot as the normally aspirated cars – of which the Silverline Chevrolet Cruze is one – wasn’t able to compete against the turbocharged cars.

Add in some robust driving during two out of the three races at the 1.3 mile Knockhill circuit, the seventh weekend of the season for MacDowall ended up as one to forget – he left Scotland having scored a single tenth place finish in the final race.

He heads to Rockingham this weekend, fully expecting the turbos to have the advantage but the Silverline Chevrolet’s shouldn’t be ruled out of contention yet.

“I think Rockingham should be better for us than Knockhill was”, he commented, “Qualifying will be crucial once again because there are very few areas to overtake. The Cruze is a great car over the race distance and Rockingham is very tough on tyres so I’m hoping we can have a good weekend.

“The infield section is very tight and twisty, which should favour our car, but the long straight linking turn four of the oval round to the first hairpin will give a big advantage to the turbos. Rockingham is very flat though so hopefully they won’t be able to use their horsepower advantage quite so much. I am more eager than ever for good results after a bad weekend at Knockhill – don’t rule us out yet!”

The story of the 2011 BTCC has been all about the ongoing battle to level the playing field between the normally aspirated cars and those cars with the new NGTC turbocharged engine, as well as the all new NGTC cars.

With the odds heavily stacked against him, MacDowall has still secured two podium finishes this season and harbours hope of finishing inside the Championship top six – although this will prove tough as there are only three events remaining this season, but he will fight as hard as he can to secure the maximum amount of points possible.

Two free practice sessions for the BTCC competitors will take place at Rockingham on Saturday, 17th September, followed by qualifying at 15.00 – the action from which will be streamed live online at www.itv.com/touringcars

On Sunday, 18th September, round 22 of the season will get underway at 11.30, round 23 will follow at 14.00 and round 24 is scheduled to commence at 16.50. All three encounters will be screened live on Freeview, digital satellite and cable channel ITV4 and in High Definition on ITV4 HD. In addition, the ITV website will carry live streaming.